Happy Hallowe'en everyone. Today would have been my Gramps' 83rd birthday. Happy birthday Gramps wherever you are. I miss you! xo
Spent the afternoon out in Ft. Langley with my stitchery group. This is a group of quilters I have been quilting with for ages. Nice bunch of ladies and the village is so pretty this time of year. There was a dog parade down through town today, the majority of which were wiener dogs in costume. It was very, very funny. Here and there you would see the odd larger breed dog-one gorgeous bull mastiff in the bunch. I wish I had been faster with my camera and got some pics!
Well, I have officially sold my first art work today. I made some altered daytimers for a friend who wanted them for Xmas gifts. It was a little strange to me to do that-I kept waiting for the art police to pop out and say "Stop that woman! She's not a real artist!" ROFL! (Anyone else hear that annoying voice of self doubt?!) Anyway, I have a few daytimers left over and I am trying to decide whether or not to sell them online somehow. I still need to think about it. I shudder at the thought of eBay!
My cell just rang and my dear friend is on her way over for dinner, so I need to go pick her up. Have a safe and happy Hallowe'en everyone and enjoy the sugar rush!!
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
The Book of Naughty
In the eternal quest to keep myself occupied, I have just started a new collaborative book project called "The Book of Naughty". The idea came to me while I was sleeping and I actually got up to write it down. I have invited several artist friends and am hoping to assemble a group of 12 to work on it. The idea is to have a book about all the slightly childlike naughty things people so, with a vintage flavour to it. I have posted some pics here of a couple of pages I have made for the book so the other artists can get an idea. Should be alot of fun!
In the meantime, today is my 14th anniversary, which is a bit bitter sweet. Of course I am thankful to be able to celebrate the love my dh and I share and proud to say we are still happy after 14 years. The sad part comes from today also belonging to my grandparents. We were married on their 45th anniversary and today would have been their 59th. This is the first anniversary we are celebrating without my gramps, so I can't help but be thinking of him today.
Anyway, I took an amazing transfers class and learned 6 different transfer methods. It was well worth the money. The only one I didn't like was the one with the stinky pen-it was some sort of chemical and it made my head spin-nothing like burning a few brain cells in the name of art. ROFL!
In the meantime, today is my 14th anniversary, which is a bit bitter sweet. Of course I am thankful to be able to celebrate the love my dh and I share and proud to say we are still happy after 14 years. The sad part comes from today also belonging to my grandparents. We were married on their 45th anniversary and today would have been their 59th. This is the first anniversary we are celebrating without my gramps, so I can't help but be thinking of him today.
Anyway, I took an amazing transfers class and learned 6 different transfer methods. It was well worth the money. The only one I didn't like was the one with the stinky pen-it was some sort of chemical and it made my head spin-nothing like burning a few brain cells in the name of art. ROFL!
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Sunday Afternoon
It's been a busy but satisfying weekend. Yesterday I went across the line to Bellingham, Wa. for the monthly ATC swap, which as always was a card swapping free-for-all. There must have been about 25 people there because I took 22 cards and ran out before I had swapped with everyone. Crazy, crazy!
My pal Heather and I preceded our swapping with a stop at one of the local scrapbooking stores that has a surprisingly good selection of altered art supplies. I really like this store and bemoan the fact that I have to cross the border to shop at it. There were so many things to tempt me, it was hard deciding what to get. I ended up buying some cardstock and using one of their die-cuts to cut these wonderful little boxes that look like the kind crayons come in. I have big plans for these boxes! I also got some more paper. (Oh the lure of paper! HELP!!) Then of course, there was a trip to Stampadoodle which is just over the top. I swear there are about 2000 stamps in there, and I want... oh about 1500 of them. I settled for 2 and then another 2 from Paper Zone next door, just because they were on sale. In any case, I came home full of new ideas of things I want to make. Some things for fun, some for gifts for altered friends for Xmas. I figure if I get started now, maybe I will have them done in time for Xmas!
I was telling a friend this afternoon that this morning dh and I went to this place called Princess Motors. When they first opened it, I thought to myself "Who in their right mind would name a car parts store something so frou-frou?!?" I still don't know the answer to that, but we went in there this morning to look for a brayer. I thought maybe they would have them. They didn't but I did get to snoop through the store. They had soldering iron sets with all the tips, in a cool box for $14.99. I paid more than that for the one I have, no box, no extra tips! WOW! I also saw they had craft utility knives in a box with 6 different blades for...get this: $1.49!! Holy cow! They had rubber mallets in small sizes. I wanted one but can't remember for what, so I haven't bought it yet. Anyway, it's a cool store full of great stuff. I will be going back to get things there! My friend and I had a good laugh about my getting excited about the tools-she is the same way and says "Yeah forget about the flowers and chocolate-give me tools!" A girl after my own heart!
This trip to the car parts store and yesterday a conversation with Heather about finding art stuff in places other than art/scrapbooking store leads me to thinking I should really compile a list of things you can find in other places to use for art. I had started one some time ago-maybe I will have to revisit that. Food for thought!
So...that was my adventure and inspiration for the weekend. Tomorrow I am going to get busy and start some of the Xmas stuff. The only downside is that I can't say what it is or show any of it here till after the fact or people will know what they are getting. Darn!
My pal Heather and I preceded our swapping with a stop at one of the local scrapbooking stores that has a surprisingly good selection of altered art supplies. I really like this store and bemoan the fact that I have to cross the border to shop at it. There were so many things to tempt me, it was hard deciding what to get. I ended up buying some cardstock and using one of their die-cuts to cut these wonderful little boxes that look like the kind crayons come in. I have big plans for these boxes! I also got some more paper. (Oh the lure of paper! HELP!!) Then of course, there was a trip to Stampadoodle which is just over the top. I swear there are about 2000 stamps in there, and I want... oh about 1500 of them. I settled for 2 and then another 2 from Paper Zone next door, just because they were on sale. In any case, I came home full of new ideas of things I want to make. Some things for fun, some for gifts for altered friends for Xmas. I figure if I get started now, maybe I will have them done in time for Xmas!
I was telling a friend this afternoon that this morning dh and I went to this place called Princess Motors. When they first opened it, I thought to myself "Who in their right mind would name a car parts store something so frou-frou?!?" I still don't know the answer to that, but we went in there this morning to look for a brayer. I thought maybe they would have them. They didn't but I did get to snoop through the store. They had soldering iron sets with all the tips, in a cool box for $14.99. I paid more than that for the one I have, no box, no extra tips! WOW! I also saw they had craft utility knives in a box with 6 different blades for...get this: $1.49!! Holy cow! They had rubber mallets in small sizes. I wanted one but can't remember for what, so I haven't bought it yet. Anyway, it's a cool store full of great stuff. I will be going back to get things there! My friend and I had a good laugh about my getting excited about the tools-she is the same way and says "Yeah forget about the flowers and chocolate-give me tools!" A girl after my own heart!
This trip to the car parts store and yesterday a conversation with Heather about finding art stuff in places other than art/scrapbooking store leads me to thinking I should really compile a list of things you can find in other places to use for art. I had started one some time ago-maybe I will have to revisit that. Food for thought!
So...that was my adventure and inspiration for the weekend. Tomorrow I am going to get busy and start some of the Xmas stuff. The only downside is that I can't say what it is or show any of it here till after the fact or people will know what they are getting. Darn!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
The Sky's the Limit!
At long last after much anticipation, my Sky's the Limit Chunky Book has finally arrived. It came crammed into a bubble envie, nearly bursting at the seams. Chunky was an understatement! It was filled with interesting and beautiful art and so far I have paged it twice. I have some favorite pages and I plan to email some of the artists and tell them how much I like what they did. (I know positive feedback is always welcome!) I will have to take some pics of this chunky wonder so all of you can see it. (It has to be seen to be believed!) Just give me a few minutes and I will get some digis uploaded.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Updates (Better known as No Good Deed)
So I was all excited to be able to add some pictures of the grief themed collaborative book project, which is now complete to my website. I snapped the pics with my trusty digi (I really need to come up with a name for my digi-it's a good little friend!) and uploaded them to my computer. No problem!
I then proceeded to update the gallery page they were going to go on. I got them all loaded up and ready to go and went to publish. PROBLEM!!! It would not publish. I had "exceeded my disc quota"! WHAT?!?! ARGH!! So I log onto the FTP thingy (that's a technical term) and spent the rest of the afternoon deleting old files and revamping the gallery over and over till I could get a successful upload. Needless to say, it turn into the Pandora's box of uploads.
After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I now have the gallery all fixed up, but those of you who visit often will notice that the altered daytimers I had in that gallery have gone. Something had to give and they were it this time. Life is a series of compromises. Perhaps when my webpage sage comes over next, I will ask her to help me establish a couple more pages for uploading altered art to. It pains me to have to delete in order to fit new work in.
In any case, if you are interested in collaborative books, you can now see the first two I have worked on. I still have one somewhere in the mail system I am waiting for. Should be here shortly. Thanks to everyone who has emailed of late-it's *so* nice to hear what you think of the website. Happy arting!
I then proceeded to update the gallery page they were going to go on. I got them all loaded up and ready to go and went to publish. PROBLEM!!! It would not publish. I had "exceeded my disc quota"! WHAT?!?! ARGH!! So I log onto the FTP thingy (that's a technical term) and spent the rest of the afternoon deleting old files and revamping the gallery over and over till I could get a successful upload. Needless to say, it turn into the Pandora's box of uploads.
After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I now have the gallery all fixed up, but those of you who visit often will notice that the altered daytimers I had in that gallery have gone. Something had to give and they were it this time. Life is a series of compromises. Perhaps when my webpage sage comes over next, I will ask her to help me establish a couple more pages for uploading altered art to. It pains me to have to delete in order to fit new work in.
In any case, if you are interested in collaborative books, you can now see the first two I have worked on. I still have one somewhere in the mail system I am waiting for. Should be here shortly. Thanks to everyone who has emailed of late-it's *so* nice to hear what you think of the website. Happy arting!
Sunday, October 17, 2004
ATC Gallery
Just created some new ATCs and thought I would add them to my ATC Gallery, which has not been updated in awhile. I included one to honour Christopher Reeve. It has a quote from the Superman Song which reads "Sometimes I despair the world will never see another man like him." Truer words were never written. Heros are made, not born.
In other news, I am sharing some pics from a day out in Stanley Park yesterday. The weather was glorious-slight wind and sun warm enough to be confortable. I love autumn! The beluga pics are so close because we arrived at the aquarium just as they were being fed by their trainers. There was just a pane of glass between me and these amazing creatures. We finished up our day with pizza and gelato on Denman Street. It was a very good day!
In other news, I am sharing some pics from a day out in Stanley Park yesterday. The weather was glorious-slight wind and sun warm enough to be confortable. I love autumn! The beluga pics are so close because we arrived at the aquarium just as they were being fed by their trainers. There was just a pane of glass between me and these amazing creatures. We finished up our day with pizza and gelato on Denman Street. It was a very good day!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
More Updates
I have just added my DaVinci quilt to my Quilt Gallery page and also added a brand new assemblage (my first) to the Altered Art Gallery page. I spent yesterday playing catch up on a few art projects I had outstanding so now I can actually move on to new stuff this morning. I am just about to make a quick trip out to my local scrapbooking store to see what's new and look for some papers to use on altered daytimers a friend asked me to make.
That's it! Short and sweet today! Thanks for stopping by!
That's it! Short and sweet today! Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Update
I meant to mention that I have added a new list of books on my website. To find it, go to my homepage and click on the "Reading" button. On the "Reading" page, scroll down to the bottom, you will see I have created a list called "Art Technique Books & Magazines". I thought I would list books and/or magazines I have purchased that are altered art/book art related. It might be a good time for me to mention that I am very picky about books. I find them outrageously expensive. If I am going to buy one, it had better be something that has alot of cool ideas, excellent instruction and beautiful photographs. I will often look at a book several times before I actually break down and buy it. If it makes my list, then you will know it is something special. So...enjoy! Maybe you will find something on my list that inspires you, who knows?!
New Quilt
Okay so a week later, here is my Da Vinci raggedy quilt. I finally got around to taking a couple of pics of it this morning. It was a busy weekend with Thanksgiving and relatives visiting. (Not to mention a good dose of shoe shopping, during which I got a delicious pair of suede boots for the winter. They feel like slippers on my feet.)
I am still working on the fabric paper, as well as catching up on a few projects this morning while listening to a brand new Melissa Etheridge CD-"Lucky". The collaborative book on grief-"Do Not Go Gently" is being bound over the new few days so by this time next week, I will be able to post some pics of the finished product. It's very exciting and I am so pleased with what people did. It's going to be a chunky book for sure!
Word has it that my "Sky's the Limit" book is making its way north to me as well and perhaps if I am really really good and the stars align in just the right way, it might land on my doorstep by Friday. Two collaborative books by the weekend might just be too much for one girl to hope for!
Okay time to roll up my sleeves and unwind. Catcha later!
I am still working on the fabric paper, as well as catching up on a few projects this morning while listening to a brand new Melissa Etheridge CD-"Lucky". The collaborative book on grief-"Do Not Go Gently" is being bound over the new few days so by this time next week, I will be able to post some pics of the finished product. It's very exciting and I am so pleased with what people did. It's going to be a chunky book for sure!
Word has it that my "Sky's the Limit" book is making its way north to me as well and perhaps if I am really really good and the stars align in just the right way, it might land on my doorstep by Friday. Two collaborative books by the weekend might just be too much for one girl to hope for!
Okay time to roll up my sleeves and unwind. Catcha later!
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Fabric Paper
I just got the premier issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it is definitely worth getting. I like books that have techniques and good photos and instruction and this brand new publication fits the bill.
One of the ideas in the premier issue was fabric paper. You create it by watering down white glue, painting it onto a piece of muslin fabric and then applying ripped papers and tissues to it. Once you have the surface covered, you paint another coat over top. In the instructions, it then advises you to apply acrylic paints, but I didn't go that far. I only had about 20 minutes to spare amid Thanksgiving dinner preparations (it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada) so I just wanted to get the paper onto the fabric. Mission accomplished! It is now sitting on wax paper and drying overnight as per the instructions. Tomorrow, once it's dry, I will haul out my sewing machine and do some over stitching and embellishments.
I also got a brand new book called "Full Circle" by Lil Davis Designs. It chock full of wonderful journal ideas and the pictures are gorgeous. It wasn't cheap, but a good investment for me. I have already tabbed it. (I have those 3M tabs that you can apply and peel up and they do not damage the surface they were stuck to. I use them to mark my magazines and books so I can find things I wanted to make or idea that inspired me without having to flip through a million pages looking for things. When I am done with the page the were on, I peel them off and recycle them.)
Anyway, time to go baste big bird and get the veggies cooked. Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians. To my American friends, leftovers at my place all week! (Turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey pancakes, turkey milkshakes, turkey surprise....)
One of the ideas in the premier issue was fabric paper. You create it by watering down white glue, painting it onto a piece of muslin fabric and then applying ripped papers and tissues to it. Once you have the surface covered, you paint another coat over top. In the instructions, it then advises you to apply acrylic paints, but I didn't go that far. I only had about 20 minutes to spare amid Thanksgiving dinner preparations (it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada) so I just wanted to get the paper onto the fabric. Mission accomplished! It is now sitting on wax paper and drying overnight as per the instructions. Tomorrow, once it's dry, I will haul out my sewing machine and do some over stitching and embellishments.
I also got a brand new book called "Full Circle" by Lil Davis Designs. It chock full of wonderful journal ideas and the pictures are gorgeous. It wasn't cheap, but a good investment for me. I have already tabbed it. (I have those 3M tabs that you can apply and peel up and they do not damage the surface they were stuck to. I use them to mark my magazines and books so I can find things I wanted to make or idea that inspired me without having to flip through a million pages looking for things. When I am done with the page the were on, I peel them off and recycle them.)
Anyway, time to go baste big bird and get the veggies cooked. Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians. To my American friends, leftovers at my place all week! (Turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey pancakes, turkey milkshakes, turkey surprise....)
Thursday, October 07, 2004
New Art!!
For quite some time now, I have been admiring Linda Wood from Sisters on Sojourn's mixed media collage using Buddha as the subject matter. There is just something so interesting about Buddhism to me. Yesterday I was in a book store shopping for a birthday gift when I came upon this little chubby book of Buddha wisdom. I bought it on impulse and after going through it and marking quotes I really liked, I decided to make some art from them. The result is my first Buddha piece called "Rest'. I managed to create it in about 1/2 an hour and I am really pleased with how it came out. I find putting paint to canvass so relaxing.
I still have not had time to take a picture of my new quilt, but hopefully I will be able to take care of that tomorrow. This has just been such a busy week with Thanksgiving this weekend and relatives arriving tomorrow to celebrate with us. I am also going to see "One Man Star Wars" tonight which while probably silly beyond belief, should also be highly entertaining.
My Bandaids for the Soul project is almost complete, but for the returns being mailed out, which I will be doing this morning. Then I just have to work on the metal hinged bandaid box I am keeping my cards in. Soon as that's done, I will post a pic.
Okay, time to run! Have a great day everyone and thanks for popping by!
I still have not had time to take a picture of my new quilt, but hopefully I will be able to take care of that tomorrow. This has just been such a busy week with Thanksgiving this weekend and relatives arriving tomorrow to celebrate with us. I am also going to see "One Man Star Wars" tonight which while probably silly beyond belief, should also be highly entertaining.
My Bandaids for the Soul project is almost complete, but for the returns being mailed out, which I will be doing this morning. Then I just have to work on the metal hinged bandaid box I am keeping my cards in. Soon as that's done, I will post a pic.
Okay, time to run! Have a great day everyone and thanks for popping by!
Monday, October 04, 2004
Home again, home again...
I am back from retreat, tired, but satisfied with all the quilting I managed to get done. (Pictures to follow, probably Wednesday.) I have posted some pictures of the fabrics we dyed on Saturday. It was so cool to walk out the back door of the retreat center and see all the joyous colours flapping in the breeze. It reminded me of Tibetan prayer flags. I over-dyed several fabrics, but my favourite of the bunch was the Da Vinci one I over-dyed with red. I am going to use it for an altered book project at some point.
I met my goal of making myself a lap quilt. I made a sizeable raggedy one, using the DaVinci fabric I fell in love with. I just took it to the laundromat this morning to fray it in the wash. It's looking good if I do say so myself. It's about time I made one for me!
In other news, I finally found out why my rotary cutter was giving me so much trouble. It had a defect. The hole where the screw goes through to hold it together was oval instead of round and so it would never stay tightened. I just wrote the company that made it today to see if they will give me a new one. In the meantime, I won an ergonomic rotary cutter at retreat, which was fortunate seeing as I had a whole lot of quilting to do. It cuts like buttah. (Butter.)
Penn and I will be working on finishing up the grief book project. I can hardly wait to see then end result. It's going to be really great. I am still waiting for "The Sky's the Limit" chunky book to arrive. The waiting is making me crazy!! Now I'm just waiting for the next project to start-I have lots of ideas floating around inside my head.
Okay I am sneezing again (ruddy allergies!!) so I am going to have some tea. Thanks for stopping by. :)
I met my goal of making myself a lap quilt. I made a sizeable raggedy one, using the DaVinci fabric I fell in love with. I just took it to the laundromat this morning to fray it in the wash. It's looking good if I do say so myself. It's about time I made one for me!
In other news, I finally found out why my rotary cutter was giving me so much trouble. It had a defect. The hole where the screw goes through to hold it together was oval instead of round and so it would never stay tightened. I just wrote the company that made it today to see if they will give me a new one. In the meantime, I won an ergonomic rotary cutter at retreat, which was fortunate seeing as I had a whole lot of quilting to do. It cuts like buttah. (Butter.)
Penn and I will be working on finishing up the grief book project. I can hardly wait to see then end result. It's going to be really great. I am still waiting for "The Sky's the Limit" chunky book to arrive. The waiting is making me crazy!! Now I'm just waiting for the next project to start-I have lots of ideas floating around inside my head.
Okay I am sneezing again (ruddy allergies!!) so I am going to have some tea. Thanks for stopping by. :)
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